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Selections include: The Koran Interpreted, a translation by A.J. Arberry, first published 1955; The Qur'an, translated by M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, published 2004; or side-by-side comparison view

Sexuality

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Sexuality

Islam rejects asceticism; sexual fulfillment within marriage for both partners
is the ideal state. Sexual relations are permitted only within a legal and
normative marriage or, among the Shii, in a temporary marriage contracted
between an unmarried woman and a married or unmarried man. Sexual intercourse is
prohibited during menstruation, for forty days after childbirth, during the
daylight hours of Ramadan, and on pilgrimage. Women must be chaste for a period
of three months after divorce (iddah) to determine paternity in the event of
pregnancy. Various legal arguments allow or oppose specific forms of sexual
activity and mandate that wives submit sexually upon their husbands'
request. Homosexuality is acknowledged in the Muslim world; it is variously
considered unlawful, abnormal, and punishable under religious law, or tolerated
in areas where homosexuals are viewed as a third sex. The pre-Islamic
practice of female circumcision (and/or infibulation) is practiced in
Egypt, Sudan, parts of the Gulf, Libya, Chad, and other Muslim areas of Africa
in order to control female sexuality.